


Fortuitous Arrangements

by SabineElectricHeart (TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns)



Category: 7'Scarlet (Visual Novel)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Death Threats, F/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:08:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24761314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns/pseuds/SabineElectricHeart
Summary: He stood at the altar of the church, waiting.
Relationships: Hanamaki Ichiko/Murakumo Yuzuki
Kudos: 15





	Fortuitous Arrangements

He stood at the altar of the church, waiting.

It all played out perfectly according to plan so far. The day was beautiful, the venue was well-decorated, with _violets_ of all flowers, the caterers delivered what was promised with no last-minute adjustments, and all guests were in attendance, waiting for the bride with high expectations.

Yet, the scowl he carried so naturally did not betray his intense nervousness with the whole situation. There were probably not few people who thought it was unbecoming of him to appear so contrarian in his own wedding, but he could not help it. He was stressed, and the way he dealt with stress is by being nasty.

He knows he is being propped up for disaster, but he…

Well, it was shortly after Kagura was definitively disposed of, when the summer season ended in Okunezato, the violacias withholding their curse for the year, and the leaves starting to fall in the forest, when it all began.

His father summoned Yuzuki himself and Ichiko to the house on the night before she was supposed to leave for Tokyo.

She sat in a perfect seiza style, with the back straight and her hand movements demure and delicate, in a testimony of her good birth and greatly satisfying his father, but he had noticed she was very nervous to be in the Murakumo’s intimidating presence.

He wonders when he became so attuned with Hanamaki’s cues to detect it.

“I understand, Miss Hanamaki, that you have realized how desirable you were for that revenant, Kagura.” His father said, mid-tea, finally getting to the point of that whole spectacle. “Have you given any mind as to why?”

She lowered her cup, cradling it on her hands, as she elaborates an answer. “I assumed it was as he said. Because I was a girl, and he preferred killing young girls.”

The older man shook his head. “Why, then, would he attack you, instead of that maid? Miss Susano, I believe it was.”

Ichiko motioned to respond, but she started considering seriously the question and found herself with little on the way of an answer.

“We took the liberty to inspect Kagura’s belongings after he was banished.” Kyouji said, showing her a few pictures the serial killer had taken of her. “Tell me, Miss Hanamaki, what do you see in common amongst those photos?”

“My eyes are red in all of them.” Came the answer, rolling easily off her tongue.

Yuzuki feared the direction of that talk.

“I am sure you do not know, but after centuries hunting and killing revenants, we came to learn some things about them.” He said, ominously. “There are, amongst the general population, what we call albinos, due to the odd photographic characteristic they present and through which we identify them. These albinos have the tendency to attract revenants, they can hardly contain themselves from attacking them. Furthermore, it is speculated that a revenant that murders an albino becomes truly immortal, having no more need of further life-force stealing.”

Ichiko paled and became nauseated, while Yuzuki alternated between observing her well-being and the limits of his father’s shamelessness.

“I believe this is clear from the context, but the reason why I am telling you all of this, the reason why Kagura was so keenly interested on you, is because you are an albino, miss Hanamaki.”

The girl’s stomach dropped in dread, feeling the implication of having to deal periodically with such happenings for the remainder of her life.

“Father.” Yuzuki interceded. “Was this really necessary?”

Kyouji raised an eyebrow at his adult son and responded, “Of course. Miss Hanamaki should be aware of her condition to better protect herself and prepare for her future.”

“Murakumo, boss, it is alright.” She said, calmly, placing a soothing hand on his arm. “I prefer knowing.”

“Good. In fact, in the spirit of planning, I have a proposition to make you, Miss Hanamaki.” The older man said. “I would like for you to wed my son.”

“ _What_?!” Yuzuki shouts, clearly taken by surprise by that turn of events. “Father, don’t you think you ought to have consulted me before you made such an absurd proposition?”

The older man ignored his son, and explained his reasoning. “Miss Hanamaki, your survival is of our common interest. It would hardly be desirable having immortal revenants running around, regardless of their need for murder, and I am sure you would prefer for your death to be as remote as possible, and not by the hand of a revenant.

“The Ensepulchers usually succeed identifying and banishing revenants every summer, but as much I would like to believe, we do not manage to contain them all, and some manage to escape Okunezato. There is much we still do not know about them, and so our ability to suppress their heinous acts are likewise limited.

“We wish dearly to guarantee your safety, but we cannot do it if you reside in Tokyo. In fact, we can only be completely sure of it during whatever time you chose to spend at the compound. Which brings us to my offer of marriage. Of course, if my selfish son does not wish to wed you, I will be more than glad of doing it in his stead, but I am sure you would prefer him over me.”

“Could you not have thought of any other options, father?” The young man demanded, impatient. “She could work in my position at the hotel, or even as a maid in the compound, if push came to shove.”

The older man dismissed the ideas coldly. “The hotel would only further expose her to every revenant in the season, and the poor girl is college-educated, is young and has a future ahead of her. How could you condemn her to menial work for the rest of her life?”

“How could _you_ condemn her to a loveless marriage?!” Yuzuki brawled, completely enraged.

“I am not condemning her to anything. I am offering her a choice.” The patriarch rebutted, with force and yet calm. “She can either enter our household as a daughter-in-law, or she can take her chances in Tokyo.”

“How foolish of me? She can either marry me or be _murdered_!” The hotel manager said, pointing out the absurdity. “That is no choice at all. It is filthy coercion.”

“Perhaps we should let Miss Hanamaki decide.” Kyouji insisted, looking at their guest.

“I…” She tried to say, and stuttered her way through the words. “May I have some time to think it over?”

The older man conceded. “Of course. I will have an Ensepulcher accompany you to Tokyo, to assure your safety. You can consult with your parents, and next week I will send a car for you and we can discuss it further. Is this amendable for you?”

“Of course.” She responded quietly and rose to her feet. “Thank you for having me tonight.”

With that, she bowed and left the compound. Yuzuki, not being able to face his wretched father, also took his leave.

That was all for a week, when he was summoned to the compound again. Ichiko seemed to be making her way back to Okunezato with her final decision.

Kyouji dropped his theatrics, receiving the girl and his son in the garden, for making sure it would be as efficient as possible.

The girl bowed politely.

“So,” The older man questioned. “What is your decision?”

“I decided to accept your offer, Mr. Murakumo.” She responded, meekly. “Please, marry me.”

“Me? Not Yuzuki?” His father seemed legitimately surprised by the turn of events.

“Yes.” She confirmed. “The boss does not wish to marry me, and I would hate for taking away the chance of him finding someone he would truly prefer to be with. This is my problem to deal with, and you have been kind enough already extending your protection to me.”

Yuzuki’s heart seemed to skip a beat and fill itself with sadness.

“I see.” The patriarch said, digesting the information. “If it is what you desire, then it shall be.”

“Wait!” Yuzuki shouts, suddenly feeling anxious. “Miss Hanamaki, please, reconsider your decision. If so, I will gladly marry you myself.”

“Boss, I…” She looked at him like a deer on headlights. “I couldn’t do this to you. I can’t burden you with this.”

“Nonsense. I will not let you marry my father. You can either marry me or marry no Murakumo at all.” He responded, fiercely.

She seemed to want to deny him, but her timid nature did not allow her to fight him so fiercely, so she finally acquiesced. The young man felt guilty for imposing himself on her, but he knew it was preferable to her getting married to an elder just because there were murderers after her.

He could make a better husband than his father, or so he hoped.

It was agreed that she would finish the Fall semester in Tokyo, and for the remainder of her college education, the patriarch arranged her a spot at Shinshu University, in Nagano, commuting from Okunezato with a private chauffeur. That meant returning for the capital until December.

Both Tatehira and Kagutsuchi offered themselves to protect her during those months, having been attending the same college, and Hanate, having appeared out of the blue a few weeks into the season, also said he would keep an eye on her. Nevertheless, Yuzuki wriggled out of them the promise of her spending every holiday in the compound.

During the six months that followed, preparations for the wedding ensued. The Murakumo men would have preferred to leave it all to Ichiko, as the family had not seen a wedding since Kyouji’s own, but the bursts of thoughtfulness and the overall meekness of her character cast doubt over her capacity of planning such an event. So, they hired a professional from Kyoto.

Yuzuki terrorized the woman, making sure the event were above reproach, to the letter of the tastes of his bride, and that everything would run as smoothly as possible.

His father tried to force a traditional ceremony on them, but he shut the idea down quickly, there was plenty of time for his father to make her life miserable over tradition, he would not have her wedding ruined over it. His reasoning, which extended to every aspect of the event, was that, if he could not give her a happy life, at least he could give her the wedding of her dreams.

Luckily for him, price was no object for the Murakumo family. Nothing but the absolute best was procured for the occasion, arranged in the most elegant fashion, held in a modern church in Chibuya. The guest list was an assortment of Japan’s high society, from Kushinada’s celebrity acquaintances to CEO’s, politicians and even members of the Imperial family.

Finally, the date was upon them. Neither had a bachelor party, so the week prior passed uneventfully. Yuzuki’s only concern was finishing the renovations on the wing of the compound she would occupy in the New Year’s, while Ichiko was spending the last days of December sewing bed linen in the garden. Since her parents, as per usual, were out of the country, they would not come to her wedding, and so she was staying over at Okunezato, and not in Tokyo.

On the night before the wedding, Ichiko came to Yuzuki’s childhood room at the house, where he was also staying. It was rather late, but he was still up, reading, as he also could not drift off to sleep.

She bowed silently at his doorstep. “May I come in?”

“Of course.” He nodded, disguising his surprise, and offered her a chair. Knowing she would not take the decision to come to his room lightly, he asked, “Is something on the matter?”

The girl nodded. “Yes. I wanted to talk to you.”

Yuzuki feared momentarily she would call off the wedding, but he did not let the dread set into his stomach, and made his best to avoid for it to appear on his expression. However, that meant wearing the pinched look that came so naturally to him, which made the girl uneasy.

“I… I am probably disturbing you, I’m sorry. I should come back another time.” She motioned to leave, but he stopped her with a hand.

Softening his expression, he said, “No, please. Tell me, what has been bothering you?”

A haggard breath leaves her breath. “I just wanted to say that I’m very grateful for what you and your family is doing for me. I know this wedding is not what you wanted, but I am going to do my very best to be a good wife for you. Please, bear with me.”

Before Yuzuki could answer anything, the embarrassment overcame Ichiko’s senses and she left his room running.

He knows she had the best of intentions by telling him that, but in reality, all she achieved was filling him with a terrible dread. He feared she might call off the wedding that morning, and every minute that passed seemed to confirm she would not, but he does not know if that is any better.

If Ichiko was emotionally divested from their marriage, it was certain unhappiness, he was aware of that. However, having her try means having her expecting something he knew he could not provide, and disappointment tends to be a much harsher feeling.

The thing is, he always had the intention of trying in this marriage, of doing his absolute best to make her reasonably happy with her life, but as experience shows, his absolute best is not that good at all.

Having her try broke his heart, because it felt like a fate worse than marrying him with no hope at all. He did not want to subject her to an unhappy life, because he came to found out he really did love her.

She was loyal and patient with him, she was a good listener, and she took good care of him. Should he be any other man, he would be overjoyed of being married to her, but he is him, and his luck at relationships was not very good.

Now, standing at the altar, he stares at the door, biting the insides of his cheek, awaiting and praying. He does not know exactly what he wants, if it is for her to enter wearing that exorbitant French lace dress Susano picked for her, or if it is for her to disappear into the world, to never be heard from again.

Yuzuki knew that in that one week, she went to talk to someone. Perhaps to end a relationship. He felt in his bones that this man will be seated at the very first bench, in front of the altar, watching it closely.

Kagutsuchi, Isora, Kushinada, Tatehira… Even Hanate, whom he was not entirely convinced of the purity of his feelings. They were all there, all seated, and all eager candidates to occupy his spot if Ichiko so desired.

Soon, the music soars, and the bride enters the church, as beautiful as anyone had ever seen her.

So, their fate was sealed. If there was anyone Yuzuki would want to marry, it was Ichiko. Fate was kind to him for once, and all he wished is that it could continue to be so for as long as necessary to make her happy.


End file.
